PANCRASE 287 – 05/28/2017: Syuri vs Novaes for Strawweight Title

SYURI (a.k.a. Syuri Kondo) is going to fight Kinberly Tanaka Novaes from Brazil for the very first Pancrase women’s strawweight title.

Novaes has a MMA record of 9-2. A 26-year old Brazilian has experiences in the Muay Thai bouts as well, and fought RENA in Shoot Boxing last November.

This is a pure speculation but the following points, probably, are the reason why Novaes got picked to fight in this title fight.

Although it was five years ago, Novaes has a win over Jessica Andrade who is fighting for the UFC strawweight title. She holds titles at Noxii Combat and Nitrix Champion Fight, and currently on a three-fight win streak, which makes her look good on paper. She is from team CM System which is founded by UFC / PRIDE veteran Cristiano Marcelo. Finally, she fought RENA last year so she is recognizable among the Japanese fight fans.